University of Manitoba research computer analyst Wayne Chan holds a copy of the Silk Dress cryptogram. (Trevor Brine/CBC)
“Bismark Omit leafage buck bank.”
That seemingly random string of words appears in something called the Silk Dress cryptogram, 23 handwritten lines on two sheets of crinkled paper that were discovered in a hidden pocket of a Victorian-era dress bought in Maine in 2013.
The lines seemed like an encoded message from the late 1800s, with references to North American cities, including Calgary and Winnipeg.
“There were lots of theories [about its meaning], from the American Civil War to simply instructions for dress-making,” said Wayne Chan, a University of
